Painted Stripe Skirt

 

I hope everyone had a lovely Mother's Day weekend! I thought this post would be perfect for the occasion, because these photos were taken at the rose garden at the Wrigley Mansion in Pasadena. We visited this gorgeous garden last month, but, sadly, the roses were not nearly as spectacular as they were last year.  I think the main reason for this was that we visited just a little too early before these roses reached their peak. Luckily, some of the flowers that were blooming in the garden proved to be the perfect match for this new outfit that was gifted to me by Emily and Fin. I really love this eyelet maroon top and the matching painted stripe skirt, and I think it made for the perfect outfit for an afternoon stroll through the garden!

 

I am definitely going to have to mark my calendar as a reminder to visit this exquisite rose garden next year when the roses are fully in bloom!  It's truly a sight to behold! In fact, I posted one of the photos from last year on my Instagram account for Mother's Day and it was fun to look back at the variety of colors and textures in all the different variations of roses in the garden. Maybe visiting the rose garden here will become a Mother's Day tradition!

 

Top: c/o Emily and Fin here

Skirt: c/o Emily and Fin here and dress version here

Shoes: Old Navy similar nude bow shoes here

Bag: Mansur Gavriel similar pink bag here

 

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Sunflowers and Daisies

This weekend, we went to a sunflower field in Orange County. I actually spotted the field of bright, majestic flowers last weekend as we were driving on an overpass in Costa Mesa and, after doing some research, I realized that it was open to the public and that this weekend was the last weekend to visit. Upon visiting the field of sunflowers I realized why it was the last weekend to visit, as about 85% of the sunflowers were brown and dead. (It is the end of summer, after all, and it's also been over 100 degrees for weeks now!) Luckily, there were still some pretty patches of flowers to gawk at and and take pictures by. Unfortunately, I don't really have any sunflower print clothing (shocking, right?) but I did just recently get this daisy dress that I thought would be fun to wear on this outing! Below, you will find some other fun daisy print items that you can shop for as you plan your own jaunt through a flower field or wear for any occasion!

As I mentioned in this post already, it was quite hot this weekend, although I think I've been mentioning that in just about all of my posts lately because it's really putting a damper on getting in the spirit of fall! It was also pretty dirty and dusty in the field and there were a lot of bugs. In fact, my husband got several worms on him during this experience! So, while I might have a daisy dress on in these photos, with the sweat, dust and bugs, I wasn't' exactly feeling as fresh as a daisy afterwards, if you know what I mean!

 

Dress: kate spade here

Shoes: J. Crew similar here and here
Headband: Anthropologie similar yellow headband here

Bag: Louis Vuitton

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Anza-Borrego Super Bloom

Last week, we continued our tour of the prime super bloom locations in Southern California. This time we visited Anza-Borrego State Park. We visited here several of years ago during a previous super bloom but this time, pleasantly, the flowers were even more glorious, as is evident from the picture above with all of the lovely yellow wildflowers!

Since we did a bit of hiking and off-roading around the park, which is, essentially, a desert and very hot, even in winter, I decided to keep things casual with my new Palm Springs tee and jeans. We actually drove through Palm Springs, which is about an hour and a half away from Anza-Borrego, so the tee was quite fitting for the occasion. I also opted for this straw bag because not only was it a perfect match for all of the vibrant blooms we encountered but, more importantly, it was the perfect size to hold some of the things for our trip, such as our camera and binoculars.

As a final note, the above location, which just happens to be, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful areas of the Park during the super bloom, is where I originally got a handful (and seatfull!) of thorns on our first trip to Anza-Borrego! You see, I saw a picture in the Los Angeles Times of a couple sitting under this exact tree in this exact location and I thought I would recreate the picture by also sitting under the same tree. Well, it turns out that, while these flowers are beautiful, they are also filled with teeny tiny thorns and my hands (and seat!) ended up covered with them after I sat down. My husband and I spent a good deal of time after that with tweezers, plucking out the thorns on that particular trip, so I was very careful this time around not touch anything and to just kneel, not sit, among the flowers!

Tee: J. Crew here
Jeans: J. Crew
Bag: Cynthia Rowley similar here
Sunglasses: Gucci here

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Flower Heaven at The Flower Fields

There are no words to describe the beauty of The Flower Fields in Carlsbad! It's definitely like you've died and gone to heaven...flower heaven! If you're in the San Diego area, I would highly recommend visiting this scenic destination, as it's perfect for anyone who loves flowers or just bold swaths of color, such as myself. Although my husband wasn't thrilled about paying the $16 entrance fee to get in (he said one could see most of it for free from the road, parking lot, or from the nearby outlet mall!) I think maybe he secretly enjoyed it too!

As I mentioned above, if you're interested in visiting The Flower Fields, you will have to pay an entrance fee and possibly deal with crowds, which I was not expecting. The crowds were particularly surprising given the fact that we visited on a Tuesday. I would hate to see this place on a weekend, as it's probably just swarming with people! Another heads up is that it's quite windy as the fields are near the ocean. Next time around I would bring a hat, although the hat would have probably just blown off of my head!

Another tip I have regarding visiting The Flower Fields is that you should check to make sure the fields are at their peak before making the trek there. A few weeks ago we had some pretty heavy rains in California that I think contributed to the vibrancy of the current crop of flowers in the fields. In fact, last week was apparently the peak time to visit to see the flowers in their prime. Luckily, this coincided with my spring break, so it all worked out just perfectly! If you are interested in visiting the Flower Fields you also might want to follow them on Instagram to get updates on how the crop is doing and when peak bloom times are.

Last of all, I must talk about my outfit. (This is a fashion blog after all!) My floral blouse, which I picked up at a deeply discounted price during Zara's winter sale a few months ago, almost looks like it could be a photo or maybe a painting of the flowers in these fields. In fact, I like to call it "flower camo" because of how seamlessly it blends in with my surroundings! As you know, I like to dress for the occasion and I feel like this shirt was the perfect thing to wear to the most perfect of places!

Shirt: Zara similar here
Pants: Old Navy "Rockstar" here
Shoes: Target/A New Day here cute flower shoes here
Bag: Zara similar straw circle bag
Sunglasses: Celine

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The Los Angeles Arboretum

Last week my parents were in town, so we wanted to come up with some fun things to do in the Los Angeles area for their stay. It was actually my husband's idea to go to the Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanical Gardens located in Arcadia. This was a fantastic idea because after about 10 years of living in Los Angeles, I had never been to the Arboretum, so it was a first for not only my parents, but me as well.

Unfortunately, it was very, very hot the day we decided to go. We were pretty much the only people visiting the Arboretum that day and with the heat I understand why. Luckily, the park is not huge, so we were able to cover all of it in about two hours. Also, I dressed in cool and comfortable clothes like my new J. Crew Factory scallop shorts and sneakers, so that helped keep me a little cooler!

The Los Angeles Arboretum is home to a diverse selection of trees and plants from around the world, but what I was most excited about seeing were the peacocks! The reason for why the peacocks are at the Arboretum and throughout the city of Arcadia is that the founder of the city, Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin had them imported from India in the 1880s when he was there on a hunting expedition. I guess he started off with a small number and now they are everywhere. One even came into a liquor store about a month ago and began destroying and damaging the goods inside! After being apprehended by the police and animal control, he was returned to the Arboretum. I wondered if one of the peacocks I photographed was the culprit of this crime!

I suppose I can relate to the peacocks in some way because they are flamboyant and colorful, much like the bulk of my wardrobe! I love their beautiful and colorful plumage, although I was sad that I didn't get to see any of the peacocks with their tails fanned out. Unlike myself, peacocks do not like having their pictures taken! We ended up "chasing" a few around the grounds to snap a few shots, although the one above walked right towards me, which was a little disconcerting because they are known to bite!

Last of all, one of my favorite things at the Arboretum was the Queen Anne Cottage that Lucky Baldwin built on the property for his fourth wife. (Apparently they never enjoyed it because they separated after only a year or so!) It would have been a beautiful place to live in the late 19th century, although I think I would miss air conditioning!

Shirt: SheIn here, similar here
Shorts: J. Crew Factory here
Shoes: Old Navy similar here
Bag: Kate Spade similar here
Earrings: Charming Charlie here
Sunglasses: Celine